Preemption indications for new radio

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of dynamic multiplexing are described, including the transmission of preemption indication (PI) to indicate preemption of time-frequency resources. In some embodiments, a next Generation NodeB (gNB) is configured to transmit PIs in signaling to preempt an enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) communications transmission with an ultra-reliable and low latency communications (URLCC) transmission. In some embodiments, a user equipment (UE) is configured to monitor a region of time-frequency resources, within a bandwidth part (BWP), for a PI. The PI indicates to the UE a portion of time-frequency resources that omit transmissions intended for the UE. In some embodiments, the gNB transmits the PI to the UE within preemption indication downlink control information (PI-DCI) in a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in a control resource set (CORESET). In some embodiments, the BWP is defined according to a frequency domain location, a bandwidth, and a subcarrier spacing for a given numerology.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/637,659, filed Feb. 7, 2020, which is a national stage application ofPCT/US2018/046038, filed Aug. 9, 2018, which claims priority to U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/543,647 filed, Aug. 10, 2017and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/556,990 filed, Sep.11, 2017 each of which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

The claims in the instant application are different than those of theparent application or other related applications. The Applicanttherefore rescinds any disclaimer of claim scope made in the parentapplication or any predecessor application in relation to the instantapplication. The Examiner is therefore advised that any such previousdisclaimer and the cited references that it was made to avoid, may needto be revisited. Further, any disclaimer made in the instant applicationshould not be read into or against the parent application or otherrelated applications.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments pertain to wireless networks and wireless communications.Some embodiments relate to New Radio (NR) 5G networks. Some embodimentsrelate to methods, computer readable media, and apparatuses forpreempting time-frequency resources. Some embodiments relate toultra-reliable and low latency communications (URLCC) preemptingenhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) communications.

BACKGROUND

Mobile communication has evolved significantly from early voice systemsto today's highly sophisticated integrated communication platform. NewRadio (NR) wireless communication systems, or 5G communication systems,will provide ubiquitous access to information and sharing of data forvarious users and applications. NR is expected to be a unified systemtargeted to meet vastly different and sometimes conflicting performancedimensions and services. Such diverse multi-dimensional requirements aredriven by different services and applications. In general, NR willevolve based on 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long TermEvolution (LTE) Advanced with additional potential NR AccessTechnologies (RATs) to provide improved, simplified, and seamlesswireless connectivity solutions.

The NR use case families, such as enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) andultra-reliable and low latency communications (URLCC), involve differentdesired characteristics in terms of user plane (U-plane) latency andcoverage levels. Some key desired characteristics for URLLC relate toU-plane latency and reliability. For example, a URLLC target for U-planelatency may be 0.5 milliseconds (ms) for uplink (UL), and 0.5 ms fordownlink (DL). A target for reliability, for example, may be 1×10⁻⁵within 1 ms. One challenge for NR system design is to enable efficientmultiplexing of the eMBB and URLLC services in the same spectrum. Bothservices may use a large bandwidth (e.g., tens of MHz) but may havedifferent latency requirements that can limit the applicability ofsimple frequency domain multiplexing, which may lead to the necessity oftime domain multiplexing approaches. One simple design is to allowsemi-static partitioning of resources in time domain by allocatingcertain resources for URLLC and eMBB, however this approach may sufferfrom low efficiency and peak data rate losses of both eMBB and URLLCservices. Therefore, new multiplexing approaches are desired forefficient operation of both URLLC and eMBB services in one spectrum.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system architecture of a wirelessnetwork in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 2A illustrates protocol functions that may be implemented in awireless communication device in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 2B illustrates protocol entities that may be implemented inwireless communication devices in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates example components of a device in accordance withsome embodiments;

FIG. 4 illustrates example interfaces of baseband circuitry inaccordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating components, according to someexample embodiments, able to read instructions from a machine-readableor computer-readable medium;

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of dynamic multiplexing of an eMBBtransmission and an URLLC transmission, in accordance with certainembodiments;

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of multiple bandwidth parts within asystem bandwidth, in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 8A illustrates an example of preempted time-frequency resourcesoverlapping with a phase tracking-reference signal, in accordance withcertain embodiments;

FIG. 8B illustrates an example of preempted time-frequency resources anda shifted phase tracking-reference signal, in accordance with certainembodiments;

FIG. 9A illustrates an example of preempted time-frequency resources, inaccordance with certain embodiments;

FIG. 9B illustrates an example of a bitmap for preemption oftime-frequency resources, in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIG. 9C illustrates an alternative example of a bitmap for preemption oftime-frequency resources, in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIG. 10A illustrates an example of preempted time-frequency resources,in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIG. 10B illustrates an example of non-uniform bitmap, in accordancewith certain embodiments;

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of preemption indication signaling withseparate time domain and frequency domain indications, in accordancewith certain embodiments; and

FIG. 12 illustrates a block diagram of an example machine, in accordancewith some embodiments.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 illustrates an architecture of a system 100 of a network inaccordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the system 100may be configured for dynamic multiplexing operations, for example,involving preemption of time-frequency resources by certain types ofcommunication signals. In some embodiments, network devices, such as theaccess nodes described below, can be configured to preempt ongoing eMBBtransmissions with URLLC transmissions in time-frequency resources. Theaccess nodes can indicate preemption of time-frequency resources toother network devices, such as user equipment (UE), using preemptionindications, as described further below.

The system 100 is shown to include a UE 101 and a UE 102, for example aUE configured for preemption operations. The UEs 101 and 102 areillustrated as smartphones (e.g., handheld touchscreen mobile computingdevices connectable to one or more cellular networks), but may alsocomprise any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as PersonalData Assistants (PDAs), pagers, laptop computers, desktop computers,wireless handsets, or any computing device including a wirelesscommunications interface.

In some embodiments, any of the UEs 101 and 102 can comprise an Internetof Things (IoT) UE, which can comprise a network access layer designedfor low-power IoT applications utilizing short-lived UE connections. AnIoT UE can utilize technologies such as machine-to-machine (M2M) ormachine-type communications (MTC) for exchanging data with an MTC serveror device via a public land mobile network (PLMN), Proximity-BasedService (ProSe) or device-to-device (D2D) communication, sensornetworks, or IoT networks. The M2M or MTC exchange of data may be amachine-initiated exchange of data. An IoT network describesinterconnecting IoT UEs, which may include uniquely identifiableembedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure), withshort-lived connections. The IoT UEs may execute background applications(e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate theconnections of the IoT network.

The UEs 101 and 102 may be configured to connect, e.g., communicativelycouple, with a radio access network (RAN) 110—the RAN 110 may be, forexample, an Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS)Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), a NextGen RAN (NG RAN), orsome other type of RAN. The UEs 101 and 102 utilize connections 103 and104, respectively, each of which comprises a physical communicationsinterface or layer (discussed in further detail below); in this example,the connections 103 and 104 are illustrated as an air interface toenable communicative coupling, and can be consistent with cellularcommunications protocols, such as a Global System for MobileCommunications (GSM) protocol, a code-division multiple access (CDMA)network protocol, a Push-to-Talk (PTT) protocol, a PTT over Cellular(POC) protocol, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS)protocol, a 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) protocol, a fifth generation(5G) protocol, a New Radio (NR) protocol, and the like.

In this embodiment, the UEs 101 and 102 may further directly exchangecommunication data via a ProSe interface 105. The ProSe interface 105may alternatively be referred to as a sidelink interface comprising oneor more logical channels, including but not limited to a PhysicalSidelink Control Channel (PSCCH), a Physical Sidelink Shared Channel(PSSCH), a Physical Sidelink Discovery Channel (PSDCH), and a PhysicalSidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH).

The UE 102 is shown to be configured to access an access point (AP) 106via connection 107. The connection 107 can comprise a local wirelessconnection, such as a connection consistent with any IEEE 802.11protocol, wherein the AP 106 would comprise a wireless fidelity (WiFi®)router. In this example, the AP 106 is shown to be connected to theInternet without connecting to the core network of the wireless system(described in further detail below).

The RAN 110 can include one or more access nodes that enable theconnections 103 and 104, for example, for a dynamic multiplexing and/orpreemption operation. These access nodes (ANs) can be referred to asbase stations (BSs), NodeBs, evolved NodeBs (eNBs), next GenerationNodeBs (gNB), RAN nodes, and so forth, and can comprise ground stations(e.g., terrestrial access points) or satellite stations providingcoverage within a geographic area (e.g., a cell). The RAN 110 mayinclude one or more RAN nodes for providing macrocells, e.g., macro RANnode 111, and one or more RAN nodes for providing femtocells orpicocells (e.g., cells having smaller coverage areas, smaller usercapacity, or higher bandwidth compared to macrocells), e.g., low power(LP) RAN node 112.

Any of the RAN nodes 111 and 112 can terminate the air interfaceprotocol and can be the first point of contact for the UEs 101 and 102.In some embodiments, any of the RAN nodes 111 and 112 can fulfillvarious logical functions for the RAN 110 including, but not limited to,radio network controller (RNC) functions such as radio bearermanagement, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management anddata packet scheduling, and mobility management.

In accordance with some embodiments, the UEs 101 and 102 can beconfigured to communicate using Orthogonal Frequency-DivisionMultiplexing (OFDM) communication signals with each other or with any ofthe RAN nodes 111 and 112 over a multicarrier communication channel inaccordance various communication techniques, such as, but not limitedto, an Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA)communication technique (e.g., for downlink communications) or a SingleCarrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) communicationtechnique (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelink communications),although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.The OFDM signals can comprise a plurality of orthogonal subcarriers.

In some embodiments, a downlink resource grid can be used for downlinktransmissions from any of the RAN nodes 111 and 112 to the UEs 101 and102, while uplink transmissions can utilize similar techniques. The gridcan be a time-frequency grid, called a resource grid or time-frequencyresource grid, which is the physical resource in the downlink in eachslot. Such a time-frequency plane representation is a common practicefor OFDM systems, which makes it intuitive for radio resourceallocation. Each column and each row of the resource grid corresponds toone OFDM symbol and one OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The duration ofthe resource grid in the time domain corresponds to one slot in a radioframe. The smallest time-frequency unit in a resource grid is denoted asa resource element. Each resource grid comprises a number of resourceblocks, which describe the mapping of certain physical channels toresource elements. Each resource block comprises a collection ofresource elements; in the frequency domain, this may represent thesmallest quantity of resources that currently can be allocated. Thereare several different physical downlink channels that are conveyed usingsuch resource blocks.

The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) may carry user data andhigher-layer signaling to the UEs 101 and 102. The physical downlinkcontrol channel (PDCCH) may carry information about the transport formatand resource allocations related to the PDSCH channel, among otherthings. It may also inform the UEs 101 and 102 about the transportformat, resource allocation, and H-ARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request)information related to the uplink shared channel. Typically, downlinkscheduling (assigning control and shared channel resource blocks to theUE 102 within a cell) may be performed at any of the RAN nodes 111 and112 based on channel quality information fed back from any of the UEs101 and 102. The downlink resource assignment information may be sent onthe PDCCH used for (e.g., assigned to) each of the UEs 101 and 102.

The PDCCH may use CCEs to convey the control information. Before beingmapped to resource elements, the PDCCH complex-valued symbols may firstbe organized into quadruplets, which may then be permuted using asub-block interleaver for rate matching. Each PDCCH may be transmittedusing one or more of these CCEs, where each CCE may correspond to ninesets of four physical resource elements known as resource element groups(REGs). Four Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) symbols may be mappedto each REG. The PDCCH can be transmitted using one or more CCEs,depending on the size of the downlink control information (DCI) and thechannel condition. There can be four or more different PDCCH formatsdefined in LTE with different numbers of CCEs (e.g., aggregation level,L=1, 2, 4, or 8).

Some embodiments may use concepts for resource allocation for controlchannel information that are an extension of the above-describedconcepts. For example, some embodiments may utilize an enhanced physicaldownlink control channel (EPDCCH) that uses PDSCH resources for controlinformation transmission. The EPDCCH may be transmitted using one ormore enhanced the control channel elements (ECCEs). Similar to above,each ECCE may correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elementsknown as an enhanced resource element groups (EREGs). An ECCE may haveother numbers of EREGs in some situations.

The RAN 110 is shown to be communicatively coupled to a core network(CN) 120—via an S1 interface 113. In embodiments, the CN 120 may be anevolved packet core (EPC) network, a NextGen Packet Core (NPC) network,or some other type of CN. In this embodiment the S1 interface 113 issplit into two parts: the S1-U interface 114, which carries traffic databetween the RAN nodes 111 and 112 and the serving gateway (S-GW) 122,and the S1-mobility management entity (MME) interface 115, which is asignaling interface between the RAN nodes 111 and 112 and MMEs 121.

In this embodiment, the CN 120 comprises the MMEs 121, the S-GW 122, thePacket Data Network (PDN) Gateway (P-GW) 123, and a home subscriberserver (HSS) 124. The MMEs 121 may be similar in function to the controlplane of legacy Serving General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) SupportNodes (SGSN). The MMEs 121 may manage mobility aspects in access such asgateway selection and tracking area list management. The HSS 124 maycomprise a database for network users, including subscription-relatedinformation to support the network entities' handling of communicationsessions. The CN 120 may comprise one or several HSSs 124, depending onthe number of mobile subscribers, on the capacity of the equipment, onthe organization of the network, etc. For example, the HSS 124 canprovide support for routing/roaming, authentication, authorization,naming/addressing resolution, location dependencies, etc.

The S-GW 122 may terminate the S1 interface 113 towards the RAN 110, androutes data packets between the RAN 110 and the CN 120. In addition, theS-GW 122 may be a local mobility anchor point for inter-RAN nodehandovers and also may provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Otherresponsibilities may include lawful intercept, charging, and some policyenforcement.

The P-GW 123 may terminate an SGi interface toward a PDN. The P-GW 123may route data packets between the EPC network 123 and external networkssuch as a network including the application server 130 (alternativelyreferred to as application function (AF)) via an Internet Protocol (IP)interface 125. Generally, the application server 130 may be an elementoffering applications that use IP bearer resources with the core network(e.g., UMTS Packet Services (PS) domain, LTE PS data services, etc.). Inthis embodiment, the P-GW 123 is shown to be communicatively coupled toan application server 130 via an IP communications interface 125. Theapplication server 130 can also be configured to support one or morecommunication services (e.g., Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP)sessions, PTT sessions, group communication sessions, social networkingservices, etc.) for the UEs 101 and 102 via the CN 120.

The P-GW 123 may further be a node for policy enforcement and chargingdata collection. Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCRF) 126 isthe policy and charging control element of the CN 120. In a non-roamingscenario, there may be a single PCRF in the Home Public Land MobileNetwork (HPLMN) associated with a UE's Internet Protocol ConnectivityAccess Network (IP-CAN) session. In a roaming scenario with localbreakout of traffic, there may be two PCRFs associated with a UE'sIP-CAN session: a Home PCRF (H-PCRF) within a HPLMN and a Visited PCRF(V-PCRF) within a Visited Public Land Mobile Network (VPLMN). The PCRF126 may be communicatively coupled to the application server 130 via theP-GW 123. The application server 130 may signal the PCRF 126 to indicatea new service flow and select the appropriate Quality of Service (QoS)and charging parameters. The PCRF 126 may provision this rule into aPolicy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF) (not shown) with theappropriate traffic flow template (TFT) and QoS class of identifier(QCI), which commences the QoS and charging as specified by theapplication server 130.

FIG. 2A illustrates protocol functions that may be implemented in awireless communication device in accordance with some embodiments, forexample in a UE or BS configured for preemption operations. In someembodiments, protocol layers may include one or more of physical layer(PHY) 210, medium access control layer (MAC) 220, radio link controllayer (RLC) 230, packet data convergence protocol layer (PDCP) 240,service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer 247, radio resourcecontrol layer (RRC) 255, and non-access stratum (NAS) layer 257, inaddition to other higher layer functions not illustrated.

According to some embodiments, protocol layers may include one or moreservice access points that may provide communication between two or moreprotocol layers. According to some embodiments, PHY 210 may transmit andreceive physical layer signals 205 that may be received or transmittedrespectively by one or more other communication devices (e.g., UE 101,UE 102, device 300). According to some aspects, physical layer signals205 may comprise one or more physical channels. According to someembodiments, an instance of PHY 210 may process requests from andprovide indications to an instance of MAC 220 via one or more physicallayer service access points (PHY-SAP) 215. According to someembodiments, requests and indications communicated via PHY-SAP 215 maycomprise one or more transport channels. According to some embodiments,an instance of MAC 220 may process requests from and provide indicationsto an instance of RLC 230 via one or more medium access control serviceaccess points (MAC-SAP) 225. According to some embodiments, requests andindications communicated via MAC-SAP 225 may comprise one or morelogical channels. According to some embodiments, an instance of RLC 230may process requests from and provide indications to an instance of PDCP240 via one or more radio link control service access points (RLC-SAP)235. According to some embodiments, requests and indicationscommunicated via RLC-SAP 235 may comprise one or more RLC channels.

According to some embodiments, an instance of PDCP 240 may processrequests from and provide indications to one or more of an instance ofRRC 255 and one or more instances of SDAP 247 via one or more packetdata convergence protocol service access points (PDCP-SAP) 245.According to some embodiments, requests and indications communicated viaPDCP-SAP 245 may comprise one or more radio bearers. According to someembodiments, an instance of SDAP 247 may process requests from andprovide indications to one or more higher layer protocol entities viaone or more service data adaptation protocol service access points(SDAP-SAP) 249. According to some embodiments, requests and indicationscommunicated via SDAP-SAP 249 may comprise one or more quality ofservice (QoS) flows. According to some embodiments, RRC entity 255 mayconfigure, via one or more management service access points (M-SAP),embodiments of one or more protocol layers, which may include one ormore instances of PHY 210, MAC 220, RLC 230, PDCP 240 and SDAP 247.According to some embodiments, an instance of RRC may process requestsfrom and provide indications to one or more NAS entities via one or moreRRC service access points (RRC-SAP).

FIG. 2B illustrates protocol entities that may be implemented inwireless communication devices in accordance with some embodiments. Forexample, protocol entities that may be implemented in wirelesscommunication devices, configured for preemption operations, includingone or more of a UE 260 (e.g., UE 101, UE 102, device 300), a basestation, which may be termed an evolved node B (eNB), or new radio nodeB (gNB) 280, and a network function, which may be termed a mobilitymanagement entity (MME), or an access and mobility management function(AMF) 294, according to some embodiments.

According to some embodiments, 5GNB 280 may be implemented as one ormore of a dedicated physical device such as a macro-cell, a femto-cellor other suitable device, or in an alternative aspect, may beimplemented as one or more software entities running on server computersas part of a virtual network termed a cloud radio access network (CRAN).According to some embodiments, one or more protocol entities that may beimplemented in one or more of UE 260 (e.g., UE 101, UE 102, device 300),gNB 280 and AMF 294, may be described as implementing all or part of aprotocol stack in which the layers are considered to be ordered fromlowest to highest in the order PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP, RRC and NAS.According to some embodiments, one or more protocol entities that may beimplemented in one or more of UE 260, gNB 280 and AMF 294, maycommunicate with a respective peer protocol entity that may beimplemented on another device, using the services of respective lowerlayer protocol entities to perform such communication.

According to some embodiments, UE PHY 272 and peer entity gNB PHY 290may communicate using signals transmitted and received via a wirelessmedium. According to some embodiments, UE MAC 270 and peer entity gNBMAC 288 may communicate using the services provided respectively by UEPHY 272 and gNB PHY 290. According to some embodiments, UE RLC 268 andpeer entity gNB RLC 286 may communicate using the services providedrespectively by UE MAC 270 and gNB MAC 288. According to someembodiments, UE PDCP 266 and peer entity gNB PDCP 284 may communicateusing the services provided respectively by UE RLC 268 and 5GNB RLC 286.According to some embodiments, UE RRC 264 and gNB RRC 282 maycommunicate using the services provided respectively by UE PDCP 266 andgNB PDCP 284. According to some embodiments, UE NAS 262 and AMF NAS 292may communicate using the services provided respectively by UE RRC 264and gNB RRC 282.

FIG. 3 illustrates example components of a device 300 in accordance withsome embodiments. For example, the device 300 may be a device configuredfor preemption operations (e.g., UE 101, UE 102, UE 260, RAN Node111/112). In some embodiments, the device 300 may include applicationcircuitry 302, baseband circuitry 304, Radio Frequency (RF) circuitry306, front-end module (FEM) circuitry 308, one or more antennas 310, andpower management circuitry (PMC) 312 coupled together at least as shown.The components of the illustrated device 300 may be included in a UE(e.g., UE 101, UE 102, UE 260) or a RAN node (e.g., Macro RAN node 111,LP RAN node 112, gNB 280). In some embodiments, the device 300 mayinclude less elements (e.g., a RAN node may not utilize applicationcircuitry 302, and instead may include a processor/controller to processIP data received from an EPC). In some embodiments, the device 300 mayinclude additional elements such as, for example, memory/storage,display, camera, sensor, or input/output (I/O) interface. In otherembodiments, the components described below may be included in more thanone device (e.g., said circuitries may be separately included in morethan one device for Cloud-RAN (C-RAN) implementations).

The application circuitry 302 may include one or more applicationprocessors. For example, the application circuitry 302 may includecircuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core ormulti-core processors. The processor(s) may include any combination ofgeneral-purpose processors and dedicated processors (e.g., graphicsprocessors, application processors, etc.). The processors may be coupledwith or may include memory/storage and may be configured to executeinstructions stored in the memory/storage to enable various applicationsor operating systems to run on the device 300. In some embodiments,processors of application circuitry 302 may process IP data packetsreceived from an EPC.

The baseband circuitry 304 may include circuitry such as, but notlimited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. Thebaseband circuitry 304 may include one or more baseband processors orcontrol logic to process baseband signals received from a receive signalpath of the RF circuitry 306 and to generate baseband signals for atransmit signal path of the RF circuitry 306. Baseband processingcircuitry 304 may interface with the application circuitry 302 forgeneration and processing of the baseband signals and for controllingoperations of the RF circuitry 306. For example, in some embodiments,the baseband circuitry 304 may include a third generation (3G) basebandprocessor 304A, a fourth generation (4G) baseband processor 304B, afifth generation (5G) baseband processor 304C, or other basebandprocessor(s) 304D for other existing generations, generations indevelopment or to be developed in the future (e.g., second generation(2G), sixth generation (6G), etc.). The baseband circuitry 304 (e.g.,one or more of baseband processors 304A-D) may handle various radiocontrol functions that enable communication with one or more radionetworks via the RF circuitry 306.

In other embodiments, some or all of the functionality of basebandprocessors 304A-D may be included in modules stored in the memory 304Gand executed via a Central Processing Unit (CPU) 304E. The radio controlfunctions may include, but are not limited to, signalmodulation/demodulation, encoding/decoding, radio frequency shifting,etc. In some embodiments, modulation/demodulation circuitry of thebaseband circuitry 304 may include Fast-Fourier Transform (FFT),precoding, or constellation mapping/demapping functionality. In someembodiments, encoding/decoding circuitry of the baseband circuitry 304may include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, or LowDensity Parity Check (LDPC) encoder/decoder functionality. Embodimentsof modulation/demodulation and encoder/decoder functionality are notlimited to these examples and may include other suitable functionalityin other embodiments.

In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 304 may include one or moreaudio digital signal processor(s) (DSP) 304F. The audio DSP(s) 304F maybe include elements for compression/decompression and echo cancellationand may include other suitable processing elements in other embodiments.Components of the baseband circuitry may be suitably combined in asingle chip, a single chipset, or disposed on a same circuit board insome embodiments. In some embodiments, some or all of the constituentcomponents of the baseband circuitry 304 and the application circuitry302 may be implemented together such as, for example, on a system on achip (SOC).

In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 304 may provide forcommunication compatible with one or more radio technologies. Forexample, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 304 may supportcommunication with an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network(EUTRAN) or other wireless metropolitan area networks (WMAN), a wirelesslocal area network (WLAN), a wireless personal area network (WPAN).Embodiments in which the baseband circuitry 304 is configured to supportradio communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referredto as multi-mode baseband circuitry.

RF circuitry 306 may enable communication with wireless networks usingmodulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. Invarious embodiments, the RF circuitry 306 may include switches, filters,amplifiers, etc. to facilitate the communication with the wirelessnetwork. RF circuitry 306 may include a receive signal path which mayinclude circuitry to down-convert RF signals received from the FEMcircuitry 308 and provide baseband signals to the baseband circuitry304. RF circuitry 306 may also include a transmit signal path which mayinclude circuitry to up-convert baseband signals provided by thebaseband circuitry 304 and provide RF output signals to the FEMcircuitry 308 for transmission.

In some embodiments, the receive signal path of the RF circuitry 306 mayinclude mixer circuitry 306A, amplifier circuitry 306B and filtercircuitry 306C. In some embodiments, the transmit signal path of the RFcircuitry 306 may include filter circuitry 306C and mixer circuitry306A. RF circuitry 306 may also include synthesizer circuitry 306D forsynthesizing a frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 306A of thereceive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments,the mixer circuitry 306A of the receive signal path may be configured todown-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 308 based on thesynthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuitry 306D. Theamplifier circuitry 306B may be configured to amplify the down-convertedsignals and the filter circuitry 306C may be a low-pass filter (LPF) orband-pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from thedown-converted signals to generate output baseband signals. Outputbaseband signals may be provided to the baseband circuitry 304 forfurther processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signals maybe zero-frequency baseband signals, although this is not a requirement.In some embodiments, mixer circuitry 306A of the receive signal path maycomprise passive mixers, although the scope of the embodiments is notlimited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 306A of the transmit signalpath may be configured to up-convert input baseband signals based on thesynthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuitry 306D togenerate RF output signals for the FEM circuitry 308. The basebandsignals may be provided by the baseband circuitry 304 and may befiltered by filter circuitry 306C. In some embodiments, the mixercircuitry 306A of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 306Aof the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may bearranged for quadrature downconversion and upconversion, respectively.In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 306A of the receive signal pathand the mixer circuitry 306A of the transmit signal path may include twoor more mixers and may be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartleyimage rejection). In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 306A of thereceive signal path and the mixer circuitry 306A may be arranged fordirect downconversion and direct upconversion, respectively. In someembodiments, the mixer circuitry 306A of the receive signal path and themixer circuitry 306A of the transmit signal path may be configured forsuper-heterodyne operation.

In some embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input basebandsignals may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of theembodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternateembodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signalsmay be digital baseband signals. In these alternate embodiments, the RFcircuitry 306 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) anddigital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry and the baseband circuitry304 may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RFcircuitry 306. In some dual-mode embodiments, a separate radio ICcircuitry may be provided for processing signals for each spectrum,although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 306D may be afractional-N synthesizer or a fractional N/N+1 synthesizer, although thescope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect as other typesof frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, synthesizercircuitry 306D may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier,or a synthesizer comprising a phase-locked loop with a frequencydivider. The synthesizer circuitry 306D may be configured to synthesizean output frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 306A of the RFcircuitry 306 based on a frequency input and a divider control input. Insome embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 306D may be a fractionalN/N+1 synthesizer.

In some embodiments, frequency input may be provided by a voltagecontrolled oscillator (VCO), although that is not a requirement. Dividercontrol input may be provided by either the baseband circuitry 304 orthe applications processor 302 depending on the desired outputfrequency. In some embodiments, a divider control input (e.g., N) may bedetermined from a look-up table based on a channel indicated by theapplications processor 302. Synthesizer circuitry 306D of the RFcircuitry 306 may include a divider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), amultiplexer and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the dividermay be a dual modulus divider (DMD) and the phase accumulator may be adigital phase accumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may beconfigured to divide the input signal by either N or N+1 (e.g., based ona carry out) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some exampleembodiments, the DLL may include a set of cascaded, tunable, delayelements, a phase detector, a charge pump and a D-type flip-flop. Inthese embodiments, the delay elements may be configured to break a VCOperiod up into Nd equal packets of phase, where Nd is the number ofdelay elements in the delay line. In this way, the DLL provides negativefeedback to help ensure that the total delay through the delay line isone VCO cycle.

In some embodiments, synthesizer circuitry 306D may be configured togenerate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in otherembodiments, the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrierfrequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrierfrequency) and used in conjunction with quadrature generator and dividercircuitry to generate multiple signals at the carrier frequency withmultiple different phases with respect to each other. In someembodiments, the output frequency may be a LO frequency (f_(LO)). Insome embodiments, the RF circuitry 306 may include an IQ/polarconverter.

FEM circuitry 308 may include a receive signal path which may includecircuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from one or moreantennas 310, amplify the received signals and provide the amplifiedversions of the received signals to the RF circuitry 306 for furtherprocessing. FEM circuitry 308 may also include a transmit signal pathwhich may include circuitry configured to amplify signals fortransmission provided by the RF circuitry 306 for transmission by one ormore of the one or more antennas 310. In various embodiments, theamplification through the transmit or receive signal paths may be donesolely in the RF circuitry 306, solely in the FEM 308, or in both the RFcircuitry 306 and the FEM 308.

In some embodiments, the FEM circuitry 308 may include a TX/RX switch toswitch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEMcircuitry may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path.The receive signal path of the FEM circuitry may include an LNA toamplify received RF signals and provide the amplified received RFsignals as an output (e.g., to the RF circuitry 306). The transmitsignal path of the FEM circuitry 308 may include a power amplifier (PA)to amplify input RF signals (e.g., provided by RF circuitry 306), andone or more filters to generate RF signals for subsequent transmission(e.g., by one or more of the one or more antennas 310).

In some embodiments, the PMC 312 may manage power provided to thebaseband circuitry 304. In particular, the PMC 312 may controlpower-source selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-to-DCconversion. The PMC 312 may often be included when the device 300 iscapable of being powered by a battery, for example, when the device isincluded in a UE. The PMC 312 may increase the power conversionefficiency while providing desirable implementation size and heatdissipation characteristics.

While FIG. 3 shows the PMC 312 coupled only with the baseband circuitry304. However, in other embodiments, the PMC 312 may be additionally oralternatively coupled with, and perform similar power managementoperations for, other components such as, but not limited to,application circuitry 302, RF circuitry 306, or FEM 308.

In some embodiments, the PMC 312 may control, or otherwise be part of,various power saving mechanisms of the device 300. For example, if thedevice 300 is in an RRC_Connected state, where it is still connected tothe RAN node as it expects to receive traffic shortly, then it may entera state known as Discontinuous Reception Mode (DRX) after a period ofinactivity. During this state, the device 300 may power down for briefintervals of time and thus save power.

If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period of time,then the device 300 may transition off to an RRC_Idle state, where itdisconnects from the network and does not perform operations such aschannel quality feedback, handover, etc. The device 300 goes into a verylow power state and it performs paging where again it periodically wakesup to listen to the network and then powers down again. The device 300may not receive data in this state, in order to receive data, it musttransition back to RRC_Connected state.

An additional power saving mode may allow a device to be unavailable tothe network for periods longer than a paging interval (ranging fromseconds to a few hours). During this time, the device is totallyunreachable to the network and may power down completely. Any data sentduring this time incurs a large delay and it is assumed the delay isacceptable.

Processors of the application circuitry 302 and processors of thebaseband circuitry 304 may be used to execute elements of one or moreinstances of a protocol stack (e.g., protocol stack described withrespect to FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B). For example, processors of the basebandcircuitry 304, alone or in combination, may be used to execute Layer 3,Layer 2, or Layer 1 functionality, while processors of the applicationcircuitry 304 may utilize data (e.g., packet data) received from theselayers and further execute Layer 4 functionality (e.g., transmissioncommunication protocol (TCP) and user datagram protocol (UDP) layers).As referred to herein, Layer 3 may comprise a RRC layer (e.g., 255, 264,282). As referred to herein, Layer 2 may comprise a MAC layer (e.g.,220, 270, 288), a RLC layer (e.g., 230, 268, 286), and a PDCP layer(e.g., 240, 266, 284). As referred to herein, Layer 1 may comprise a PHYlayer (e.g., 210, 272, 290) of a UE/RAN node.

FIG. 4 illustrates example interfaces of baseband circuitry inaccordance with some embodiments. As discussed above, the basebandcircuitry 304 of FIG. 3 may comprise processors 304A-304E and a memory304G utilized by said processors. Each of the processors 304A-304E mayinclude a memory interface, 404A-404E, respectively, to send/receivedata to/from the memory 304G.

The baseband circuitry 304 may further include one or more interfaces tocommunicatively couple to other circuitries/devices, such as a memoryinterface 412 (e.g., an interface to send/receive data to/from memoryexternal to the baseband circuitry 304), an application circuitryinterface 414 (e.g., an interface to send/receive data to/from theapplication circuitry 302 of FIG. 3 ), an RF circuitry interface 416(e.g., an interface to send/receive data to/from RF circuitry 306 ofFIG. 3 ), a wireless hardware connectivity interface 418 (e.g., aninterface to send/receive data to/from Near Field Communication (NFC)components, Bluetooth® components (e.g., Bluetooth® Low Energy), Wi-Fi®components, and other communication components), and a power managementinterface 420 (e.g., an interface to send/receive power or controlsignals to/from the PMC 312).

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating components, according to someexample embodiments, able to read instructions from a machine-readableor computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readablestorage medium) and perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein, for example, one or more preemption operations.Specifically, FIG. 5 shows a diagrammatic representation of hardwareresources 500 including one or more processors (or processor cores) 510,one or more memory/storage devices 520, and one or more communicationresources 530, each of which may be communicatively coupled via a bus540. For embodiments where node virtualization (e.g., NFV) is utilized,a hypervisor 502 may be executed to provide an execution environment forone or more network slices/sub-slices to utilize the hardware resources500.

The processors 510 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a reducedinstruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction setcomputing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a digitalsignal processor (DSP) such as a baseband processor, an applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC), a radio-frequency integrated circuit(RFIC), another processor, or any suitable combination thereof) mayinclude, for example, a processor 512 and a processor 514.

The memory/storage devices 520 may include main memory, disk storage, orany suitable combination thereof. The memory/storage devices 520 mayinclude, but are not limited to any type of volatile or non-volatilememory such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random-accessmemory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM),electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), Flashmemory, solid-state storage, etc.

The communication resources 530 may include interconnection or networkinterface components or other suitable devices to communicate with oneor more peripheral devices 504 or one or more databases 506 via anetwork 508. For example, the communication resources 530 may includewired communication components (e.g., for coupling via a UniversalSerial Bus (USB)), cellular communication components, NFC components,Bluetooth® components (e.g., Bluetooth® Low Energy), Wi-Fi® components,and other communication components.

Instructions 550 may comprise software, a program, an application, anapplet, an app, or other executable code for causing at least any of theprocessors 510 to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussedherein. The instructions 550 may reside, completely or partially, withinat least one of the processors 510 (e.g., within the processor's cachememory), the memory/storage devices 520, or any suitable combinationthereof. Furthermore, any portion of the instructions 550 may betransferred to the hardware resources 500 from any combination of theperipheral devices 504 or the databases 506. Accordingly, the memory ofprocessors 510, the memory/storage devices 520, the peripheral devices504, and the databases 506 are examples of computer-readable andmachine-readable media.

One approach to addressing the desire for efficient operation of bothURLLC and eMBB services in one spectrum involves dynamic multiplexing.In some embodiments, to enable dynamic multiplexing, a gNB can beconfigured to preempt an ongoing eMBB transmission with a URLLCtransmission (e.g., puncture resource elements already scheduled foreMBB transmissions with URLLC transmissions). In some embodiments, toassist a device such as a user equipment (UE) to perform proper softcombining of a corrupted initial transmission (e.g., initial eMBBtransmission) and a retransmission (e.g., due to puncturing of eMBBdata), the UE may be informed of certain time-frequency resources (e.g.,including the eMBB) that are to be preempted (e.g., by a URLLCtransmission) via a Preemption Indication (PI).

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of dynamic multiplexing of an eMBBtransmission and an URLLC transmission, in accordance with certainembodiments. In some embodiments, an access node, such as a gNB canpreempt resources 606, within an eMBB transmission 602, for thetransmission of a control channel and/or a data channel, for example,for an URLLC application (e.g., URLLC 604).

As will be described below in further detail, in some embodiments, anaccess node (e.g., gNB) can configure a device (e.g., UE) to monitor aregion of time-frequency resources (e.g., reference downlink resources)for a PI. The gNB can configure the UE to monitor the region oftime-frequency resources semi-statically, for example, by transmittingradio resource control (RRC) signaling that includes information toconfigure the UE with the region of time-frequency resources formonitoring. Embodiments are not limited to RRC signaling, however, asother embodiments include configuring the UE for monitoring thetime-frequency region for a PI using various techniques. In someembodiments, the RRC signaling can include information (e.g., aninformation element (IE)) to configure the UE to monitor for a PI withina region of a system bandwidth, for example, within a bandwidth part(BWP). The RRC signaling can also include information to configure theUE to monitor for a PI within multiple BWPs and according to differentBWP configurations, including different numerologies (e.g., numerologiesdefined in the 3GPP standard). In some embodiments, the gNB can encode aDCI format that is specific to (e.g., and includes information for)preemption indication (e.g., PI-DCI).

In certain embodiments, the DCI format may be used for notifying a groupof UEs of a portion of physical resource blocks (PRBs) and symbols, suchas Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols. A UE ormultiple UEs may assume that, within the portion of the PRBs and OFDMsymbols (e.g., a portion of PRBs and symbols of a PDSCH transmission),no transmission is intended for the respective UE receiving the DCIformat. In certain embodiments, this means that some time-frequencyresources (e.g., URLLC transmissions) are preempted (e.g., eMBBtransmissions are preempted). To preempt eMBB transmissions, forexample, a gNB can puncture resource elements that are scheduled for theeMBB transmissions, although embodiments are not so limited. Inembodiments of a preempted transmission, a UE considers the preemptedtransmission (e.g., from the gNB) to be corrupted and can then performsoft combining of the corrupted (e.g., preempted) initial transmissionand a retransmission (e.g., retransmission of an eMBB transmission).Receiving the PI from the gNB in such embodiments can assist with thesoft combining.

As previously described, in certain embodiments, a UE can be configuredto monitor for a PI within a BWP. A BWP part can be defined as a subsetof a bandwidth of contiguous common resource blocks, according to agiven numerology (p), on a given carrier. A BWP can also be defined by astarting position (e.g., starting resource block) and a number ofresource blocks. In some embodiments, a maximum NR channel bandwidth maybe 400 MHz and a gNB may configure one or multiple BWP configurations(e.g., for respective component carriers) within a wide system bandwidthfor a given UE. For example, the gNB can semi-statically configure(e.g., transmit configuration information in RRC signaling to the UE)the BWP configurations. In some embodiments, the gNB can configure BWPsby encoding and transmitting to a UE information (e.g., IEs,higher-layer parameters) specific to a given numerology. Suchinformation may also be transmitted in RRC signaling, and can include areference numerology (e.g., for a BWP, for preempted resources), afrequency domain location for a given numerology, a bandwidth for agiven numerology, and/or a subcarrier spacing of a BWP for a givennumerology. According to some embodiments, the gNB can include suchinformation in RRC signaling. The RRC signaling may also includeinformation

In some embodiments, a UE can be configured with up to four BWPs in adownlink (DL) and a single DL BWP may be active at a given time. In someembodiments, a UE can be configured with up to four BWPs in an uplink(UL) and a single UL BWP may be active at a given time. In someembodiments, for a given numerology and carrier, a resource grid of anumber of subcarriers and a number of symbols (e.g., OFDM symbols) isdefined, starting at a common resource block, which can be indicated byhigher-layer signaling. A given numerology (e.g., for a given BWP) canhave one of various subcarrier spacings and slot length configurations.

According to certain embodiments, the gNB can encode RRC signaling toinclude a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) that is specific topreemption indication (e.g., PI-RNTI). The gNB can encode DCI (e.g.,PI-DCI, DCI Format 2_1) with a cyclic redundancy check (CRC), that isscrambled (e.g., masked) by the RNTI (e.g, PI-RNTI), and the UEidentifying the PI-RNTI can decode the PI-DCI to determine a PI and alocation of preempted time-frequency resources. In some embodiments, aPI may be used for additional purposes, for example, to dynamicallysignal resources in UL. A gNB can achieve differentiation in UL bytransmitting another RNTI for scrambling the DCI and reinterpreting theDCI format fields, assuming UL preemption, while keeping the same DCIsize.

In some embodiments, the gNB can transmit DCI (e.g., PI-DCI) in aspecific format (e.g., including the PI) via a PDCCH in acontrol-resource set (CORESET). A CORESET consists of a number ofresource blocks in the frequency domain, which can be defined by ahigher-layer parameter (e.g., in an IE), and a number of symbols (e.g.,OFDM symbols) in the time domain, which can also be defined by ahigher-layer parameter (e.g., in an IE). In some embodiments, an accessnode (e.g., gNB) can transmit the CORESET and associated definingparameters and/or IEs within RRC signaling to a UE to configure the UEfor monitoring for PI-DCI (e.g., DCI format 2_1) and a PI within theCORESET.

Downlink control information transmitted in PDCCH is allocated to CCEs.A CCE consists of 6 resource-element groups (REGs), where aresource-element group equals one resource block during one OFDM symbol.REGs within a CORESET are numbered in increasing order in a time-firstmanner, starting with 0 for a first OFDM symbol and the lowest-numberedresource block in the control resource set. In some embodiments, a UE isconfigured (e.g., by a gNB) with multiple CORESETs, and each CORESET canbe associated with one CCE-to-REG mapping.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of multiple BWPs within a systembandwidth, in accordance with some embodiments. For example, themultiple BWPs of FIG. 7 can have different numerologies within a systembandwidth. In some embodiments, a system bandwidth 702 (e.g., widesystem bandwidth) includes multiple BWPs, for example, BWP 704, BWP 706,and additional BWPs in some cases. In some embodiments, different BWPs(e.g., BWP 704, BWP 706) have different numerologies, includingdifferent subcarrier spacings and slot durations. A BWP configuration,according to its numerology, may have subcarrier spacing that is ascaled multiple (e.g., by a power of 2^(n), where n is an integer) of a15 kHz subcarrier spacing.

In some embodiments, for example, in the case of wideband operation, anetwork device (e.g., gNB) can determine preempted time-frequencyresources (e.g., for indication by PI in PI-DCI) in accordance with anumerology (e.g., reference numerology). A numerology for determinationof preempted time-frequency resources may be any of a numerology usedfor the transmission of a synchronization block (SS block), a numerologypredefined in a specification (e.g., 3GPP specification), a numerologyconfigured for the CORESET used for transmission of PI-DCI (e.g., DCIformat 2_1) in PDCCH, a numerology that is configured in a cell-specificmanner for PI (e.g., via NR minimum system information (MSI), NRremaining minimum system information (RMSI), NR system information block(SIB)), or UE-specifically via UE-specific RRC signaling), and/or anumerology which is indicated within the PI. Further, frequency domainresources can be allocated based on a common physical resource block(PRB) indexing which can be employed for the wide system bandwidthoperation.

In some embodiments, for example in FIG. 7 , the BWP 704 is configuredwith a 15 kHz subcarrier spacing and a slot duration of 1 ms, while BWP706 is configured with a 60 kHz subcarrier spacing and a slot durationof roughly 0.25 ms (e.g., 712A-712D), wherein for BWP 704 and BWP 706,the number of OFDM symbols within a slot is 14. In other embodiments,the system bandwidth 702 may include additional BWPs of differentnumerologies. For NR systems, symbol level alignment across differentsubcarrier spacings with a same cyclic prefix (CP) overhead may beassumed within a subframe duration in a NR carrier.

In some embodiments, a network node (e.g., gNB) can transmit a PI in DCI(e.g., PI-DCI, DCI format 2_1) within the CORESET to a group of UEs orin a cell-specific manner. The CORESET may be a shared and/or commonCORESET and can be the same as a CORESET for PDCCH monitoring forscheduling, for example, for scheduling of remaining system information(RMSI) or paging or random access response (RAR). In certainembodiments, when the CORESET is different from a CORESET for PDCCHmonitoring of common control messages, the CORESET configuration,including a time-frequency resource transmission scheme (e.g.,interleaved or non-interleaved), resource element group (REG)-to-controlchannel element (CCE) mapping, monitoring periodicity, and numerology,can be configured by higher-layers via NR MSI, NR RMSI, NR SIB and/orUE-specific RRC signaling.

In time domain, according to a monitoring configuration in someembodiments, a UE may not monitor certain slots for the PDCCH carryingPI. In such cases, the gNB may not transmit the PI in an affected slotor an immediately adjacent slot to the affected slot. In someembodiments, an additional field (e.g., included in the PI) can be usedto indicate a number of slots prior to the slot carrying the PI that apreemption occurs. For example, a number of slots between a portion ofPRBs and OFDM symbols that omit transmissions intended for a UE and aslot that includes the PI. On the other hand, a UE receiving a PIsignificantly after an actual preemption event can cause reprocessing ofa received PDSCH to be difficult or resource-intensive for a UE. In someembodiments, an upper bound, N_(s) ^(max) can be specified thatindicates how much later in time (e.g., a number of slots) that the PImay be transmitted after the actual preemption event. In one embodiment,a maximum number of slots that may be indicated as part of the PI is thesame as the upper bound, N_(s) ^(max). Alternatively, N_(s) ^(max) maybe defined as part of a UE capability, and if a UE detects a PIindicating preemption more than N_(s) ^(max) slots before the PI whereN_(s) ^(max) is reported by the UE, it is not required to reprocess thePDSCH taking into consideration the PI.

In some embodiments, a UE may be configured to disregard a PI that isreceived after a scheduled retransmission, for example, for a scheduledretransmission of an affected PDSCH (e.g., a retransmission of a PDSCHtransmission that was preempted and considered corrupted by the UE). Insome cases, a UE may have already soft-combined an earlier received copyof a transmission in PDSCH (e.g., without removing the corruptedsoft-bits) with the retransmitted PDSCH. In some embodiments, a gNB canencode one or more PIs for transmission in multiple PDCCHs within onecarrier bandwidth. For example, with respect to FIG. 7 , a gNB mayencode a PI for transmission in the PDCCH 708 of BWP 704 and a PI fortransmission in the PDCCH 710 of BWP 706. Additionally, a gNB can encodeeach PDCCH (e.g., including PI) to be transmitted in a single BWP andcan encode a PI to indicate preemption in a BWP other than the BWP inwhich it is transmitted. Because multiple bandwidth parts can beconfigured within a wider carrier bandwidth, where each BWP may beassociated with a numerology, the CORESET configured for PDCCH carryingPI may be configured (e.g., gNB) using the numerology in thecorresponding bandwidth part.

In some embodiments, the gNB can indicate multiple preemptions oftime-frequency resources by encoding a parameter (e.g., granularityparameter, bitmap parameter, indication granularity). The granularityparameter can be transmitted explicitly in signaling (e.g., RRCsignaling), transmitted in DCI (e.g., PI-DCI, DCI format 2_1), or can bederived by a UE implicitly. In some embodiments, the granularityparameter can specify a frequency granularity of preempted resources(e.g., preempted eMBB), which can be configured to be a number ofelements (e.g., PRBs) within a monitoring region of time-frequencyresources, according to a given numerology. The granularity parametercan also specify a time granularity of preempted resources (e.g.,preempted eMBB), which can be configured to be a number of symbolswithin a monitoring region of time-frequency resources, also accordingto the given numerology. In certain embodiments, a gNB, in determiningthe granularity of the preempted resources, can consider a payload sizeof a group common DCI (e.g., PI-DCI, DCI format 2_1) carrying the PI.

In some embodiments, configuration of frequency regions smaller than aUE bandwidth can lead to scheduling restrictions and overdesignedsignaling. To address this, the gNB can encode signaling so that thefrequency region is implicitly indicated as a bandwidth of a BWP or acomponent carrier (CC) where a UE operates. For example, the BWP inwhich the CORESET is transmitted can be considered by the UE to be thebandwidth in which the UE monitors for the PI. In some embodiments, thegNB can transmit an indication to the UE in signaling to notify the UEof the bandwidth for monitoring being equal to the BWP. In otherembodiments, additional start-RB and end-RB may be configured via RRCfor the concerned BWP in order to further restrict the monitoring region(e.g., in case the puncturing/preemption is expected to affect only aportion of the BWP). With respect to time domain resources,configurability may be directly linked with a PI-DCI monitoringconfiguration. For example, a monitoring periodicity (e.g., ‘p’) can bereused as a monitoring region for monitoring for the PI.

In some cases, a UE may not benefit from receiving a PI that indicates aslot earlier than ‘n-c’ because of processing latency. If ‘c’ is smallerthan a configured monitoring periodicity, the reference resource can beadjusted accordingly based on processing capabilities of all UEs in thegroup. To resolve the issue of UE processing time in relation to PImonitoring periodicity and in relation to the region of time-domainresources for PI, several techniques may be used.

In one embodiment, if a UE receives a PI in a slot or symbol ‘n’indicating a preemption occurrence affecting a PDSCH for which it alsoreceived a PDSCH retransmission before slot/symbol ‘n’ the UE is notexpected to consider the PI. For example, the UE is not expected toconsider the PI for determination of acknowledgement and/ornon-acknowledgement feedback corresponding to a PDSCH transmission. Insome embodiments, PI targets avoiding soft-combining of corruptedlog-likelihood ratios (LLR) from an affected (e.g., corrupted) PDSCHwith a clean retransmitted copy. In case a hybrid automatic repeatrequest (HARQ) timing is relaxed, in some cases, whether to consider thePI may be left up to UE implementation. In some embodiments, however,the UE is expected to consider the PI for any HARQ combining of anaffected or corrupted PDSCH with the retransmission of the affectedtransmission block (TB).

In some embodiments, to avoid additional buffering and associatedincreased power and memory (e.g., buffer) requirements, it is desirablefor a UE to be aware of a PI before receiving a retransmission of PDSCH.Without being aware of the PI before receiving such retransmission, insome cases, the UE is likely to have already soft-combined an originalPDSCH and a retransmitted version of the PDSCH. In some embodiments, aprocessing time t_reproc may be introduced for a PI. For example, aprocessing time may include a time between receiving a PI andtransmitting an acknowledgement or non-acknowledgement. In certainembodiments, if UE receives a second PI after a first PI, and the timebetween the first PI and HARQ acknowledgement or non-acknowledgement(ACK/NACK) feedback is less than a time t_reproc, the UE may then beexpected to consider the second PI.

In some embodiments, if a time gap between reception of a PI and HARQACK/NACK feedback is less than a time t_reproc, the UE is not expectedto consider a PI for determining the ACK/NACK corresponding to the PDSCHindicated as being affected by preemption (e.g., indicated in PI-DCI aspreempted). In some embodiments, t_reproc is equal to a minimum UEprocessing time (e.g., N1 symbols), for example, processing time for thePDSCH. In other embodiments, t_reproc may be less than N1, but is atleast greater than f*N1, where ‘f’ is a predefined fraction. Processingtime, t_reproc, can also be indicated by a UE as part of UE capability,and may also be configured by the network per UE based on UE capabilityfor minimum UE processing time (e.g., if UE capability is defined forminimum UE processing time). In some embodiments, the UE is not expectedto consider a PI corresponding to a TB for which it already received aretransmission during a time-gap between an affected PDSCH and the nextPI monitoring instance (e.g., monitoring for PI-DCI).

In some embodiments, a transmitted SS block may have a higher prioritythan other physical channels and/or signaling. For example, in someembodiments, a gNB is configured to refrain from preemptingtime-frequency resources that would overlap with transmitted SS blocks.Alternatively, preempted time-frequency resources (e.g., time-frequencyresources indicated by PI) can overlap with time-frequency resources oftransmitted SS blocks. However, in such cases, the data and controlchannels transmitting within the preempted physical resource should berate-matched around and/or puncture resources of the transmitted SSblocks.

In certain embodiments, when a UE is configured to monitor for both aneMBB and URLLC transmission, the UE may receive a DL control channel(e.g., PDCCH) and/or DL shared channel (e.g., PDSCH) for a URLLC withintime-frequency resources (e.g., resources indicated by the PI). In suchembodiments, the CORESET for PDCCH monitoring or the scheduled data willhave higher priority than the preempted time-frequency resources (e.g.,indicated by the PI) if the CORESET or scheduled data overlaps with thepreempted time-frequency resources. In some embodiments, if a PIindicates the PDCCH and/or PDSCH for URLLC as being preempted, the UEwill not assume that these resources are corrupted for a receiveprocessing adjustment.

UE behavior, for such embodiments, may be configurable by higher-layersignaling. For this purpose, a bit indication (e.g., one bit) may beconveyed (e.g., transmitted by the gNB) as part of signaling forconfiguration of UE monitoring of a BWP and the CORESET (e.g., includingPI-DCI) within the PDCCH (e.g., associated with a certain PDCCH searchspace to be used for scheduling of particular services). For example,the bit indication may be set to ‘1’ to indicate to the UE that whenscheduled via DCI (e.g., PI-DCI) in the CORESET, or PDCCH search space,the resources corresponding to the scheduled PDSCH cannot be preemptedand thus should be excluded from calculation of corrupted resourceelements (e.g., preempted resource elements) indicated by PI. In certainembodiments, the resources corresponding to transmission of PDCCH in theindicated CORESETs and resources corresponding to PDSCH scheduled usingDCI in such CORESETs are reserved from being preempted, which can leadto restrictions to scheduling flexibility.

A dynamic signaling approach can be used, in some embodiments, includingsignaling to indicate whether the current PDSCH assignment may bepreempted. For example, an access node (e.g., gNB) can encode a DCI bitindicating ‘0’ to notify another node (e.g., UE) that the PDSCH may besubject to pre-emption. Additionally, the gNB can encode a DCI bit witha ‘1’ to notify the UE that the scheduled PDSCH is not subject topreemption, even if a part of the corresponding physical resources areindicated as being preempted via the subsequent preemption indicationsignaling.

In another embodiment, when preempted time-frequency resources partiallyor fully overlap with reference signaling, certain UE behaviors may bedefined (e.g., gNB defines UE behavior in encoded PI). For example, whenpreempted time-frequency resources partially or fully overlap the withdemodulation-reference signals (DM-RS), the UE may need to flush asoft-bit buffer. For instance, the UE may not perform soft-bit combiningbetween a partially preempted transmission and retransmission and/orinitial transmission.

FIG. 8A illustrates an example of preempted resource overlapping with aphase tracking-reference signal (PT-RS), in accordance with certainembodiments. In embodiments when preempted time-frequency resources(e.g., preempted resources 606) partially or fully overlap with a PT-RS802, for example, if a PT-RS 802 is transmitted in the same subcarrieracross different symbols within a slot, the UE may need to flush asoft-bit buffer for the code blocks corresponding to physical resourcesfollowing the preempted time-frequency resources (e.g., physicalresources in time). In some embodiments, the time-frequency resources ofFIG. 8A may include an eMBB transmission 602. In certain embodiments,soft-bits may not be reliable, as PT-RS 802 is corrupted after thepreempted physical resources and the subsequent phase offset trackingperformance cannot be guaranteed.

In another embodiment, physical resources configured for PT-RStransmissions may not be permitted to be preempted and may therefore beprioritized over URLLC transmissions and/or lower-latency transmissions.In such embodiments, the time-frequency resources indicated by the PImay not be permitted to overlap with the PT-RS resources. Alternatively,the time-frequency resources for preemption may be rate-matched aroundthe PT-RS resources in case of partial overlap with PT-RS resources.

Alternatively, in some embodiments, the PT-RS may be shifted to othertime-frequency resources without collision. FIG. 8B illustrates anexample of a shifted PT-RS, in accordance with certain embodiments. Newsubcarriers for PT-RS 802, for example, the shifted time-frequencyresources for PT-RS 804, can be determined by the bandwidth of preemptedresources and can be configured by higher-layer signaling and/or DCI(e.g., PI-DCI). Whether the PT-RS should be punctured or shifted can bepre-defined and/or configured by higher-layer signaling and/or DCI.Additionally, whether the PT-RS should be punctured can be determined byany one or more of a subcarrier spacing p, an allocated bandwidth, amodulation and coding scheme (MCS), and/or a number of symbols forpreempted resources. Further, for a slot, the dynamic presence of thePT-RS can be determined by the number of symbols for preempted resourcesin addition to subcarrier spacing u, allocated bandwidth, and MCS. Insome embodiments, the time-frequency resources of FIG. 8B may include aneMBB transmission 602.

In some embodiments, when preempted time-frequency resources overlapwith a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), the UE canbe configured to skip processing measurement results for a CSI report.For example, the UE may refrain from performing filtering on a CSImeasurement where a CSI-RS transmission is punctured by preemptedresources. In another embodiment, the CSI-RS may be shifted to differentsymbols to avoid a collision, and the symbol offset can be pre-definedor configured by higher-layer signaling and/or DCI (e.g., PI-DCI). Insome embodiments, the symbol offset may be determined by a symbol lengthof preempted resources.

A tracking reference signal (TRS) may be used for fine time/frequencyoffset tracking. In certain embodiments, when preempted time-frequencyresources overlap (e.g., partially or fully overlap) with a TRS, anaccess node (e.g., gNB) may refrain from transmitting the TRS.Alternatively, the TRS can be shifted to different symbols to avoid acollision, and the symbol offset can be pre-defined, configured byhigher-layer signaling and/or DCI (e.g., PI-DCI), or may be determinedby a symbol length of preempted resources.

To indicate preempted resources, an access node (e.g., gNB) can encodethe PI-DCI (e.g., PI), for transmission within the region oftime-frequency resources for monitoring, to include various informationfor indicating preempted time-resources. In one embodiment, the PI-DCI(e.g., PI) can include a joint time-frequency bitmap. For example, thejoint time-frequency bitmap may comprise a two-dimensional (2D) bitmapand/or matrix to indicate (e.g., encode) multiple preemptions withintime-frequency resources (e.g., within an eMBB transmission). As anonlimiting example, a NR slot can have 14 symbols, which may be dividedinto 7 symbol parts (e.g., 2 symbols per part), or 14 symbol parts(e.g., 1 symbol per part). In some embodiments, a bitmap can signalwhich portions of the NR slot (e.g., subframe) are preempted in thetime-frequency resources.

In some embodiments, the y-axis of a time-frequency grid, representingfrequency (e.g., bandwidth), can be configured to comprise % of a BWP,and the x-axis of the time-frequency grid, representing time (e.g.,symbols and slots of a subframe), can be configured to comprise 2symbols with a 1 slot monitoring periodicity. In such embodiments, abitmap may consume 47=28 bits. However, in certain applications thatcover almost an entire bandwidth, such an approach may not be efficient,for example, for purposes of a distributed DL resource allocation forURLLC, where the distributed resource allocation can enable frequencydiversity.

As a more flexible approach, an access node (e.g., gNB) can encode anadditional bit field (e.g., a small 1-2 bit field in the PI-DCI). Thebit field, for example, can serve as the granularity parameter and/orindication granularity, to switch time-frequency granularity (e.g.,preemption granularity) dynamically. For example, if y=g·y₀ and x=x₀/g,then the additional bit could switch between different values of g. Incertain embodiments, different values of g may be semi-staticallyconfigured (e.g., configured by higher-layers, configured via RRCsignaling) and in other embodiments, different values of g may bedynamically configured via DCI (e.g., PI-DCI, DCI format 2_1).

In certain embodiments, a granularity parameter (e.g., indicationgranularity) can indicate a granularity of preempted time-frequencyresources through a mapping of a bitmap. For example, the granularityparameter can include a bit value indicating how many bits of a field inthe preemption indication (e.g., PI, PI-DCI, DCI format 2_1) map togroups of symbols in preempted time-frequency resources (e.g., a portionof PRBs and OFDM symbols that are preempted, eMBB transmissions). Insome embodiments, a granularity parameter including a value of 0indicates that 14 bits of a field in the PI-DCI (e.g., DCI format 2_1)have a one-to-one mapping with 14 groups of consecutive symbols inpreempted time-frequency resources. In other embodiments, a granularityparameter including a value of 1 indicates that 7 pairs of bits of afield in the PI-DCI (e.g., DCI format 2_1) have a one-to-one mappingwith 7 groups of consecutive symbols in preempted time-frequencyresources. Embodiments are not so limited however, as the granularityparameter can indicate other granularities of preempted time-frequencyresources.

FIG. 9A illustrates an example of preempted time-frequency resources, inaccordance with certain embodiments. For example, time-frequencyresources can be preempted in multiple portions 902A, 902B, and 902C,and a transmitted bitmap can indicate the multiple portions of preemptedtime-frequency resources (e.g., bitmap transmitted in PI and/orPI-DCI/DCI format 2_1).

FIG. 9B illustrates an example of a bitmap 904 for preemption oftime-frequency resources, in accordance with certain embodiments. Insome embodiments, the bitmap 904 can indicate a configurabletime-frequency granularity, for example, a 4×7 time-frequencygranularity. A 4×7 granularity can indicate 4 partitions in thefrequency domain and 7 partitions in the time domain. FIG. 9Cillustrates an alternative example of a bitmap 906 for preemption oftime-frequency resources, in accordance with certain embodiments. Insome embodiments, the bitmap 906 can indicate a configurabletime-frequency granularity, for example, a 2×14 time-frequencygranularity. A 2×14 granularity can indicate 2 partitions in thefrequency domain and 14 partitions in the time domain.

In FIG. 9B and FIG. 9C, the bitmaps 904 and 906 can indicate and/orconfigure time-frequency granularities for preemption of resources(e.g., preemption of eMBB transmissions by URLLC). In other embodiments,bitmaps that include different values can indicate and/or configuredifferent time-frequency granularities.

In certain embodiments, with respect to FIG. 9B and FIG. 9C, a bit valueof 0 in one of bitmaps 904 or 906, or a different bitmap, can indicateno preemption of time-frequency resources. In such embodiments,indication of no preemption of time-frequency resources indicates anormal transmission (e.g., transmission of eMBB, transmission ofsignaling in PDSCH). In alternative embodiments, a bit value of 1 in oneof bitmaps 904 or 906, or a different bitmap, can indicate a preemptionof time-frequency resources. In such embodiments, indication of apreemption of time-frequency resources indicates that a transmission isnot intended for a certain UE and/or corruption of signaling by the gNB.In some embodiments, a granularity value (e.g., bitmap and/or matrixindicating a granularity) can change dynamically, for example, the gNBmay change bit values in a bitmap and indicate bit values through DCI(e.g., PI-DCI).

In certain embodiments, bitmaps (e.g., 904 and 906) to indicate and/orconfigure time-frequency granularities for preemption of resources canbe semi-statically configured (e.g., configured by higher-layers,configured via RRC signaling) and in other embodiments, the bitmaps maybe dynamically configured via DCI (e.g., PI-DCI, DCI format 2_1).Bitmaps can be configured to indicate and/or configure one of timegranularity or frequency granularity, and based on receiving thisinformation through signaling (e.g., from a gNB), a device (e.g., UE)can derive a time granularity from an indicated frequency granularity(e.g., indicated in a bitmap), or vice versa.

In other embodiments, a gNB can use a non-uniform bitmap density pertime resource to better reflect mini-slot structures. For example, each‘m’ occasion in a time bitmap can correspond to a single bit puncturinginformation without frequency resolution. Such an embodiment may beuseful when the PDCCH for URLLC scheduling (e.g., and DMRS) is to span awhole bandwidth, (e.g., because of a high aggregation level) while thePDSCH is to be transmitted in distributed manner. FIG. 10A illustratesan example of preempted time-frequency resources, as indicated by anon-uniform bitmap, in accordance with certain embodiments. For example,time-frequency resources might be preempted in multiple portions 1002Aand 1002B, and a transmitted non-uniform bitmap can indicate themultiple portions of preempted time-frequency resources (e.g.,non-uniform bitmap transmitted in PI and/or PI-DCI/DCI format 2_1).

FIG. 10B illustrates an example of non-uniform bitmap 1004, inaccordance with certain embodiments. In some embodiments, bitmap 1004can indicate and/or configure a non-uniform bitmap density per timeresource, for example, to configure time-frequency granularities forpreemption of resources 1002A and 1002B. In certain embodiments, thebitmap 1004 can be a 3×7 bitmap to indicate non-uniform 3 partitions inthe frequency domain and 7 partitions in the time domain.

In some embodiments, an access node (e.g., gNB) can transmit signalingincluding time information (e.g., time indications) separately fromfrequency indications (e.g., separate time and frequency bitmaps). FIG.11 illustrates an example of preemption indication signaling withseparate time domain and frequency domain indications, in accordancewith certain embodiments. For example, this approach can be advantageouswhen time information is considered to be more important than frequencyinformation (e.g., in wideband URLLC puncturing and frequency-first REmapping). Separate time and frequency bitmaps may result in a reductionin signaling size.

In embodiments that include separate time bitmaps and frequency bitmaps,however, some signaling ambiguity can occur (e.g., imaginarypreemption). Imaginary preemptions 1102A and 1102B can include a portionof a preemption not occurring when separate time bitmap and frequencybitmap signaling is transmitted. Real preemptions 1104A and 1104B caninclude the portions of the preemptions that occur when the separatetime bitmap and frequency bitmap signaling is transmitted.

In some cases, multiple preemptions might be signaled ambiguously and areceiving device (e.g., UE) may not know which portion of time-frequencyresources are preempted by a first preemption occasion and/or whichportion of time-frequency resources are preempted by a secondpreemption. For example, if a UE receives a frequency indication (e.g.,indication by frequency bitmap), the UE may not know which portion oftime-frequency resources are preempted by preemption 1106A and/or whichportion of time-frequency resources are preempted by preemption 1106B.In such cases, a gNB may become aware of an occurrence of imaginarypreemptions 1102A and 1102B by receiving a negative acknowledgement(NACK) in HARQ feedback, based on PDSCH processing.

In some embodiments, a gNB can avoid imaginary preemptions by signalingseveral frequency domain patterns as a vector of bitmaps, the frequencydomain patterns corresponding to different preemptions. In someembodiments, a number of time domain preemptions are limited to lessthan a time domain preemption bitmap length to conserve signalingoverhead. In certain embodiments, a UE can interpret a receivedfrequency indication based on a number of is in a time bitmap. Forexample, the resolution of each frequency indication bitmap can beconfigured based on a number of time domain preemptions

${{{num\_ freq}{\_ bit}} = {{floor}\left( \frac{D_{f}}{{sum}({time\_ bitmap})} \right)}},$where D_(f) is a number of bits for a frequency domain indication,time_bitmap is a time domain bitmap, and num_freq_bit is a bitmap sizeof each frequency domain indication.

In some embodiments, a gNB may configure a set of puncturingtime-frequency patterns, for example, via transmission of semi-staticsignaling (e.g., RRC signaling) and/or DCI signaling (e.g., viaconfiguration index). In one embodiment, a gNB can limit a number ofsignaled preemptions and use combinatorial indexing to optimizehigher-layer signaling. If a number of preemptions is limited there arefewer combinations to signal. For example, referring to FIG. 9A and FIG.10A, the number of preemptions may be limited to half of the resourcesor the 28 overall puncturing resources. Such optimizations may onlyintroduce 1-2 bit savings unless a reduced number of preemptions can besignaled (e.g., 7 arbitrary preemptions in 28 resources requireapproximately 21 bit signaling).

In some embodiments, optimized signaling can be defined, whileaccounting for a maximum payload for indications (e.g., maximum DCIpayload). In such embodiments, signaling can include one or moreparameters including a number of bits available for indication ofpreemptions, D, reference time resource symbols, R_(t), referencefrequency resources (e.g., PRBs), R_(f), time and frequencygranularities ‘x’ and ‘y,’ respectively, a number of time resourceswithin a region N_(t)=floor(R_(t)/x), and a number of frequencyresources within a region N_(f)=floor(R/y), whereD=N_(f)N_(t)=floor(R/x)·floor(R/y). In some embodiments, knowing theoverall size of an indication D, and one of a granularity of time orfrequency, a UE can derive another granularity of one of time orfrequency. In other embodiments, knowing D and R_(t) and R_(f), (e.g.,from a DL resource configuration), the UE can derive a number ofpartitions in time and/or frequency. In such embodiments, either ‘x’ or‘y’ can be signaled and the UE can derive the value of ‘x’ or ‘y’ thatis not signaled from the signaled value, the overall available number ofsignaling bits, and the reference resource region size.

FIG. 12 illustrates a block diagram of an example machine 1200 uponwhich any one or more of the techniques (e.g., methodologies) discussedherein may be performed, for example, one or more preemption operations.Examples, as described herein, may include, or may operate by, logic ora number of components, or mechanisms in the machine 1200. Circuitry(e.g., processing circuitry) is a collection of circuits implemented intangible entities of the machine 1200 that include hardware (e.g.,simple circuits, gates, logic, etc.). Circuitry membership may beflexible over time. Circuitries include members that may, alone or incombination, perform specified operations when operating. In an example,hardware of the circuitry may be immutably designed to carry out aspecific operation (e.g., hardwired). In an example, the hardware of thecircuitry may include variably connected physical components (e.g.,execution units, transistors, simple circuits, etc.) including a machinereadable medium physically modified (e.g., magnetically, electrically,moveable placement of invariant massed particles, etc.) to encodeinstructions of the specific operation. In connecting the physicalcomponents, the underlying electrical properties of a hardwareconstituent are changed, for example, from an insulator to a conductoror vice versa. The instructions enable embedded hardware (e.g., theexecution units or a loading mechanism) to create members of thecircuitry in hardware via the variable connections to carry out portionsof the specific operation when in operation. Accordingly, in an example,the machine readable medium elements are part of the circuitry or arecommunicatively coupled to the other components of the circuitry whenthe device is operating. In an example, any of the physical componentsmay be used in more than one member of more than one circuitry. Forexample, under operation, execution units may be used in a first circuitof a first circuitry at one point in time and reused by a second circuitin the first circuitry, or by a third circuit in a second circuitry at adifferent time. Additional examples of these components with respect tothe machine 1200 follow.

In alternative embodiments, the machine 1200 may operate as a standalonedevice or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In anetworked deployment, the machine 1200 may operate in the capacity of aserver machine, a client machine, or both in server-client networkenvironments. In an example, the machine 1200 may act as a peer machinein peer-to-peer (P2P) (or other distributed) network environment. Themachine 1200 may be a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box(STB), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile telephone, a webappliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any machine capable ofexecuting instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions tobe taken by that machine. Further, while only a single machine isillustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken to include anycollection of machines that individually or jointly execute a set (ormultiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed herein, such as cloud computing, software as aservice (SaaS), other computer cluster configurations.

The machine (e.g., computer system) 1200 may include a hardwareprocessor 1202 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphicsprocessing unit (GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combinationthereof), a main memory 1204, a static memory (e.g., memory or storagefor firmware, microcode, a basic-input-output (BIOS), unified extensiblefirmware interface (UEFI), etc.) 1206, and mass storage 1208 (e.g., harddrive, tape drive, flash storage, or other block devices) some or all ofwhich may communicate with each other via an interlink (e.g., bus) 1230.The machine 1200 may further include a display unit 1210, analphanumeric input device 1212 (e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface(UI) navigation device 1214 (e.g., a mouse). In an example, the displayunit 1210, input device 1212 and UI navigation device 1214 may be atouch screen display. The machine 1200 may additionally include astorage device (e.g., drive unit) 1208, a signal generation device 1218(e.g., a speaker), a network interface device 1220, and one or moresensors 1216, such as a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, compass,accelerometer, or other sensor. The machine 1200 may include an outputcontroller 1228, such as a serial (e.g., universal serial bus (USB),parallel, or other wired or wireless (e.g., infrared (IR), near fieldcommunication (NFC), etc.) connection to communicate or control one ormore peripheral devices (e.g., a printer, card reader, etc.).

Registers of the processor 1202, the main memory 1204, the static memory1206, or the mass storage 1208 may be, or include, a machine readablemedium 1222 on which is stored one or more sets of data structures orinstructions 1224 (e.g., software) embodying or utilized by any one ormore of the techniques or functions described herein. The instructions1224 may also reside, completely or at least partially, within any ofregisters of the processor 1202, the main memory 1204, the static memory1206, or the mass storage 1208 during execution thereof by the machine1200. In an example, one or any combination of the hardware processor1202, the main memory 1204, the static memory 1206, or the mass storage1208 may constitute the machine readable media 1222. While the machinereadable medium 1222 is illustrated as a single medium, the term“machine readable medium” may include a single medium or multiple media(e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated cachesand servers) configured to store the one or more instructions 1224.

The term “machine readable medium” may include any medium that iscapable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution bythe machine 1200 and that cause the machine 1200 to perform any one ormore of the techniques of the present disclosure, or that is capable ofstoring, encoding or carrying data structures used by or associated withsuch instructions. Non-limiting machine readable medium examples mayinclude solid-state memories, optical media, magnetic media, and signals(e.g., radio frequency signals, other photon based signals, soundsignals, etc.). In an example, a non-transitory machine readable mediumcomprises a machine readable medium with a plurality of particles havinginvariant (e.g., rest) mass, and thus are compositions of matter.Accordingly, non-transitory machine-readable media are machine readablemedia that do not include transitory propagating signals. Specificexamples of non-transitory machine readable media may include:non-volatile memory, such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g.,Electrically Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), ElectricallyErasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM)) and flash memorydevices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removabledisks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks.

The instructions 1224 may be further transmitted or received over acommunications network 1226 using a transmission medium via the networkinterface device 1220 utilizing any one of a number of transferprotocols (e.g., frame relay, internet protocol (IP), transmissioncontrol protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP), hypertext transferprotocol (HTTP), etc.). Example communication networks may include alocal area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a packet datanetwork (e.g., the Internet), mobile telephone networks (e.g., cellularnetworks), Plain Old Telephone (POTS) networks, and wireless datanetworks (e.g., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)802.11 family of standards known as Wi-Fi®, IEEE 802.16 family ofstandards known as WiMax®), IEEE 802.15.4 family of standards,peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, among others. In an example, the networkinterface device 1220 may include one or more physical jacks (e.g.,Ethernet, coaxial, or phone jacks) or one or more antennas to connect tothe communications network 1226. In an example, the network interfacedevice 1220 may include a plurality of antennas to wirelesslycommunicate using at least one of single-input multiple-output (SIMO),multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), or multiple-input single-output(MISO) techniques. The term “transmission medium” shall be taken toinclude any intangible medium that is capable of storing, encoding orcarrying instructions for execution by the machine 1200, and includesdigital or analog communications signals or other intangible medium tofacilitate communication of such software. A transmission medium is amachine readable medium.

EXAMPLES

Although an aspect has been described with reference to specific exampleembodiments, it will be evident that various modifications and changesmay be made to these embodiments without departing from the broaderspirit and scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, thespecification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative ratherthan a restrictive sense. The accompanying drawings that form a parthereof show, by way of illustration, and not of limitation, specificembodiments in which the subject matter may be practiced. Theembodiments illustrated are described in sufficient detail to enablethose skilled in the art to practice the teachings disclosed herein.Other embodiments may be utilized and derived therefrom, such thatstructural and logical substitutions and changes may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of this disclosure. This Detailed Description,therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope ofvarious embodiments is defined only by the appended claims, along withthe full range of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

Such embodiments of the inventive subject matter may be referred toherein, individually and/or collectively, by the term “aspect” merelyfor convenience and without intending to voluntarily limit the scope ofthis application to any single aspect or inventive concept if more thanone is in fact disclosed. Thus, although specific embodiments have beenillustrated and described herein, it should be appreciated that anyarrangement calculated to achieve the same purpose may be substitutedfor the specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to coverany and all adaptations or variations of various embodiments.Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments notspecifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in theart upon reviewing the above description.

In this document, the terms “a” or “an” are used, as is common in patentdocuments, to include one or more than one, independent of any otherinstances or usages of “at least one” or “one or more.” In thisdocument, the term “or” is used to refer to a nonexclusive or, such that“A or B” includes “A but not B,” “B but not A,” and “A and B,” unlessotherwise indicated. In this document, the terms “including” and “inwhich” are used as the plain-English equivalents of the respective terms“comprising” and “wherein.” Also, in the following claims, the terms“including” and “comprising” are open-ended, that is, a system, UE,article, composition, formulation, or process that includes elements inaddition to those listed after such a term in a claim are still deemedto fall within the scope of that claim. Moreover, in the followingclaims, the terms “first,” “second,” and “third,” etc. are used merelyas labels, and are not intended to impose numerical requirements ontheir objects.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to allow the reader toquickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It issubmitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpretor limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in theforegoing Detailed Description, it can be seen that various features aregrouped together in a single aspect for the purpose of streamlining thedisclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require morefeatures than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as thefollowing claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than allfeatures of a single disclosed aspect. Thus, the following claims arehereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claimstanding on its own as a separate aspect.

The following describes various examples of methods, machine-readablemedia, and systems (e.g., machines, devices, or other apparatus)discussed herein.

Example 1 is an apparatus of a New Radio (NR) NodeB (gNB), the apparatuscomprising: memory; and one or more processors configured to: encoderadio resource control (RRC) signaling to configure a user equipment(UE) for monitoring a region of time-frequency resources for apreemption indication (PI), the RRC signaling including a bandwidth part(BWP) information element to configure a BWP of the region oftime-frequency resources for transmission of preemption indicationdownlink control information (PI-DCI); encode, for transmission to agroup of UEs including the UE, the PI-DCI to include, the PI and toindicate a portion of physical resource blocks (PRBs) that omittransmissions intended for the UE; and configure transceiver circuitryto transmit the PI-DCI in a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) ina control resource set (CORESET) to the group of UEs, and wherein thememory is configured to store the PI.

In Example 2, the subject matter of Example 1 includes, wherein the BWPinformation element includes a frequency domain location, a bandwidth,and a subcarrier spacing of the BWP for a given numerology.

In Example 3, the subject matter of Examples 1-2 includes, wherein theRRC signaling includes a preemption indication radio network temporaryidentifier (PI-RNTI) used for indicating pre-emption in a downlink (DL),and wherein the processing circuitry is configured to encode the PI-DCIwith a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) scrambled by the PI-RNTI.

In Example 4, the subject matter of Examples 1-3 includes, wherein theregion of time-frequency resources is defined by a starting position anda number of resource blocks within the BWP.

In Example 5, the subject matter of Examples 1-4 includes, wherein thePI-DCI includes a bit value of 0 to indicate a transmission in acorresponding symbol group, and wherein the PI-DCI includes a bit valueof 1 to indicate no transmission in the corresponding symbol group.

In Example 6, the subject matter of Example 5 includes, wherein the RRCsignaling includes an indication corresponding to a granularityparameter of the region of time-frequency resources.

In Example 7, the subject matter of Examples 5-6 includes, wherein thegranularity parameter including a value of 0 indicates that 14 bits of afield in the PI-DCI have a one-to-one mapping with 14 groups ofconsecutive symbols of the portion of PRBs, and wherein the granularityparameter including a value of 1 indicates that 7 pairs of bits of afield in the PI-DCI have a one-to-one mapping with 7 groups ofconsecutive symbols of the portion of PRBs.

In Example 8, the subject matter of Examples 1-7 includes, wherein theprocessing circuitry is configured to encode the PI-DCI to avoidindicating a subset of the portion of PRBs that includes asynchronization signal (SS) block transmission.

In Example 9, the subject matter of Examples 1-8 includes, wherein theBWP of the region of time-frequency resources includes the CORESET.

In Example 10, the subject matter of Examples 1-9 includes, wherein theprocessing circuitry is configured to encode the PI to indicate theportion of PRBs that omit transmissions intended for the UE.

In Example 11, the subject matter of Examples 1-10 includes, wherein theportion of PRBs are to include an enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB)transmission, and wherein the PI in the PI-DCI indicates a locationwithin the portion of the PRBs in which an ultra-reliable low latencycommunication (URLLC) transmission is to preempt the eMBB transmission.

In Example 12, the subject matter of Examples 1-11 includes, wherein theprocessing circuitry is configured to: puncture resource elementsscheduled for the eMBB transmission within the portion of the PRBs; andconfigure the transceiver circuitry for transmission of the URLLCtransmission in the punctured resource elements.

Example 13 is an apparatus of a user equipment (UE) comprising: memory;and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry configured to: decoderadio resource control (RRC) signaling, received from a New Radio (NR)NodeB (gNB), the RRC signaling to configure the UE for monitoring aregion of time-frequency resources for a preemption indication (PI), theRRC signaling including a bandwidth part (BWP) information element toconfigure a BWP of the region of time-frequency resources for monitoringfor preemption indication downlink control information (PI-DCI);configure transceiver circuitry to receive signaling in a physicaldownlink control channel (PDCCH) in a control resource set (CORESET);and decode the PI-DCI from the received signaling, the PI-DCI includingthe PI to indicate a portion of physical resource blocks (PRBs) thatomit transmissions intended for the UE, and wherein the memory isconfigured to store the PI.

In Example 14, the subject matter of Example 13 includes, wherein theBWP information element includes a frequency domain location, abandwidth, and a subcarrier spacing of the BWP for a given numerology.

In Example 15, the subject matter of Examples 13-14 includes, whereinthe processing circuitry is configured to: decode, from the RRCsignaling, a preemption indication radio network temporary identifier(PI-RNTI) indicating preemption in a downlink (DL); and identify acyclic redundancy check (CRC) scrambled by the PI-RNTI and decode thePI-DCI based on the PI-RNTI.

In Example 16, the subject matter of Examples 13-15 includes, whereinthe region of time-frequency resources is defined by a starting positionand a number of resource blocks within the BWP.

In Example 17, the subject matter of Examples 13-16 includes, whereinthe processing circuitry is configured to decode, from the RRCsignaling, an indication corresponding to a granularity parameter of theregion of time-frequency resources.

In Example 18, the subject matter of Examples 13-17 includes, whereinthe processing circuitry is configured to determine that a symbol groupincludes a transmission intended for the UE when the PI-DCI includes abit value of 0, and determine that a symbol group omits transmissionsintended for the UE when the PI-DCI includes a bit value of 1.

In Example 19, the subject matter of Examples 17-18 includes, whereinthe processing circuitry is configured to determine that 14 bits of afield in the PI-DCI have a one-to-one mapping with 14 groups ofconsecutive symbols of the portion of PRBs when the granularityparameter includes a value of 0.

In Example 20, the subject matter of Examples 13-19 includes, whereinthe processing circuitry is configured to determine that 7 pairs of bitsof a field in the PI-DCI have a one-to-one mapping with 7 groups ofconsecutive symbols of the portion of PRBs when the granularityparameter includes a value of 1.

In Example 21, the subject matter of Examples 13-20 includes, whereinthe portion of PRBs include an enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB)transmission, and wherein the processing circuitry is configured todetermine, from the PI in the PI-DCI, a location within the portion ofthe PRBs in which an ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC)transmission preempts the eMBB transmission.

In Example 22, the subject matter of Examples 13-20 includes, whereinthe apparatus further comprises two or more antennas and a transceiver,the two or more antennas and the transceiver configured to receive theRRC signaling and the signaling in the PDCCH of the CORESET.

In Example 23, the subject matter of Examples 13-21 includes, whereinthe processing circuitry is a baseband processor.

Example 24 is a computer-readable hardware storage device that storesinstructions for execution by one or more processors of a user equipment(UE), the instructions to configure the one or more processors to:decode radio resource control (RRC) signaling, received from a New Radio(NR) NodeB (gNB), the RRC signaling to configure the UE for monitoring aregion of time-frequency resources for a preemption indication (PI), theRRC signaling including a bandwidth part (BWP) information element toconfigure a BWP of the region of time-frequency resources for monitoringfor preemption indication downlink control information (PI-DCI);configure transceiver circuitry to receive signaling in a physicaldownlink control channel (PDCCH) in a control resource set (CORESET);and decode the PI-DCI from the received signaling, the PI-DCI includingthe PI to indicate a portion of physical resource blocks (PRBs) thatomit transmissions intended for the UE.

Example 25 is a computer-readable hardware storage device that storesinstructions for execution by one or more processors of a New Radio (NR)NodeB (gNB), the instructions to configure the one or more processorsto: encode radio resource control (RRC) signaling to configure a userequipment (UE) for monitoring a region of time-frequency resources for apreemption indication (PI), the RRC signaling including a bandwidth part(BWP) information element to configure a BWP of the region oftime-frequency resources for transmission of preemption indicationdownlink control information (PI-DCI); encode, for transmission to agroup of UEs including the UE, the PI-DCI to include, the PI and toindicate a portion of physical resource blocks (PRBs) that omittransmissions intended for the UE; and configure transceiver circuitryto transmit the PI-DCI in a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) ina control resource set (CORESET) to the UE.

Example 26 is at least one machine-readable medium includinginstructions that, when executed by processing circuitry, cause theprocessing circuitry to perform operations to implement of any ofExamples 1-25.

Example 27 is an apparatus comprising means to implement of any ofExamples 1-25.

Example 28 is a system to implement of any of Examples 1-25.

Example 29 is a method to implement of any of Examples 1-25.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus of a New Radio (NR) NodeB (gNB), theapparatus comprising: one or more processors configured to: encode radioresource control (RRC) signaling to configure a user equipment (UE) formonitoring a region of time-frequency resources within a bandwidth part(BWP) for a preemption indication (PI) via a group-common downlinkcontrol information (DCI), wherein the PI via group-common DCI (PI-DCI)is transmitted in a control resource set (COREST); encode, fortransmission to a group of UEs including the UE, the PI-DCI to indicatefrequency domain resources that omit transmissions intended for the UE,wherein the transmission of one or more synchronization signal (SS)blocks in the frequency domain resources are not preempted; andconfigure transceiver circuitry to transmit the PI-DCI in a physicaldownlink control channel (PDCCH) in the CORESET to the group of UEs. 2.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the PI provides an indication of aslot, back in time relative to the slot carrying the PI, in whichpreemption occurs.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, when theCORESET in which the DCI-PI is transmitted and the resources to whichthe PI apply are in different BWPs, the resources to which PI appliesare determined according to a numerology of the BWP in which the DCI-PIis transmitted.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, when the CORESETin which the DCI-PI is transmitted and the resources to which the PIapply are in different BWPs, the resources to which PI applies aredetermined according to a numerology of the BWP including the resourcesto which the PI applies.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the RRCsignaling includes a preemption indication radio network temporaryidentifier (PI-RNTI) used for indicating preemption in a downlink (DL),and wherein the one or more processors are configured to encode thePI-DCI with a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) scrambled by the PI-RNTI. 6.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the region of time-frequency resourcesis defined by a starting position and a number of resource blocks withinthe BWP.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the PI-DCI includes a bitvalue of 0 to indicate a transmission in a corresponding symbol group,and wherein the PI-DCI includes a bit value of 1 to indicate notransmission in the corresponding symbol group.
 8. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the RRC signaling includes an indication correspondingto a granularity parameter of the region of time-frequency resources. 9.A computer-readable hardware storage device that stores instructions forexecution by one or more processors of a New Radio (NR) NodeB (gNB), theinstructions to configure the one or more processors to: encode radioresource control (RRC) signaling to configure a user equipment (UE) formonitoring a region of time-frequency resources within a bandwidth part(BWP) for a preemption indication (PI) via a group-common downlinkcontrol information (DCI), wherein the PI via group-common DCI (PI-DCI)is transmitted in a control resource set (COREST); encode, fortransmission to a group of UEs including the UE, the PI-DCI to indicatefrequency domain resources that omit transmissions intended for the UE,wherein the transmission of one or more synchronization signal (SS)blocks in the frequency domain resources are not preempted; andconfigure transceiver circuitry to transmit the PI-DCI in a physicaldownlink control channel (PDCCH) in the CORESET to the group of UEs. 10.The computer-readable hardware storage device of claim 9, wherein the PIprovides an indication of a slot, back in time relative to the slotcarrying the PI, in which preemption occurs.
 11. The computer-readablehardware storage device of claim 9, wherein, when the CORESET in whichthe DCI-PI is transmitted and the resources to which the PI apply are indifferent BWPs, the resources to which PI applies are determinedaccording to a numerology of the BWP in which the DCI-PI is transmitted.12. The computer-readable hardware storage device of claim 9, wherein,when the CORESET in which the DCI-PI is transmitted and the resources towhich the PI apply are in different BWPs, the resources to which PIapplies are determined according to a numerology of the BWP includingthe resources to which the PI applies.
 13. An apparatus of a userequipment (UE) comprising: processing circuitry configured to: decoderadio resource control (RRC) signaling, received from a New Radio (NR)NodeB (gNB), the RRC signaling to configure the UE for monitoring aregion of time-frequency resources within a bandwidth part (BWP) for apreemption indication (PI) via a group-common downlink controlinformation (DC), wherein the PI via group-common DCI (PI-DCI) istransmitted in a control resource set (CORESET); configure transceivercircuitry to receive signaling in a physical downlink control channel(PDCCH) in the CORESET; and decode the PI-DCI from the receivedsignaling, the PI-DCI to indicate frequency domain resources that omittransmissions intended for the UE, wherein transmission of one or moresynchronization signal (SS) blocks in the frequency domain resources isnot preempted.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the PI provides anindication of a slot, back in time relative to the slot carrying the PI,in which preemption occurs.
 15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein, whenthe CORESET in which the DCI-PI is received and the resources to whichthe PI apply are in different BWPs, the resources to which PI appliesare determined according to a numerology of the BWP in which the DCI-PIis received.
 16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein, when the CORESET inwhich the DCI-PI is received and the resources to which the PI apply arein different BWPs, the resources to which PI applies are determinedaccording to a numerology of the BWP including the resources to whichthe PI applies.
 17. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the processingcircuitry is configured to: decode, from the RRC signaling, a preemptionindication radio network temporary identifier (PI-RNTI) indicatingpreemption in a downlink (DL); and identify a cyclic redundancy check(CRC) scrambled by the PI-RNTI and decode the PI-DCI based on thePI-RNTI.
 18. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the region oftime-frequency resources is defined by a starting position and a numberof resource blocks within the BWP.
 19. The apparatus of claim 13,wherein the processing circuitry is configured to decode, from the RRCsignaling, an indication corresponding to a granularity parameter of theregion of time-frequency resources.
 20. The apparatus of claim 13,wherein the processing circuitry is configured to: determine that asymbol group includes a transmission intended for the UE when the PI-DCIincludes a bit value of 0; and determine that a symbol group omitstransmissions intended for the UE when the PI-DCI includes a bit valueof 1.